Automatic carton setting-up machine



Oct. 22, 1935. M. BURGER AUTOMATIC CARTON SETTING-UP lMCHINE Original Filed June 20, 1931 16-SheetsSheet l Oct. 22, 1935. Mv.V BURGER 2,018,396

' AUTOMATIC CARTON SETTING-UP MACHINE Original Filed June 20, 1951' 16 Sheel',s-Shee1l 2 v y w Oct. 22, 1935. i M BURGER AUTOMATIC CARTON SETTING-UP MACHINE original Filed June 2o, 1951 1e sheets-snaai :s

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oct. 22, 1935. M BURGER 2,018,396

AUTOMATIC CARTON SETTINGY-UP MACHINE Original Filed June 20, 1931 16 Sheets-Sheet 4 Oct. 22, 1935. M, BURGER 2,018,396

AUTOMATIC CARTON SETTING-UP MACHINE w Original `Filed June 20, 1931 v 16 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 22, 1935. M. BURGER v 2,018,396

AUTOMATIC CARTON SETTING-UP MACHINEv `Original Filedy June 20, 1931 16 Sheets-Sheet 6 l/biliar,

Oct. 22, 1935. M. BURGER AUTOMATIC CARTON SETTING-UP MACHINE Original Filed June 20, 1931 16 Sheets-Sheet '7 z5 @l Q Oct. 22, 1935. M. BURGER AUTOMATIC CARTN SETTING-UP MACHINE 16 Sheets-Sheet 8 Original Filed June 20, 1931 l16 Sheets-Sheet 9 M. BURGER AUTOMATIC CARTON SETTING-UP MACHINE Original Filed June 20, 1931 Oct. 22, 1935.

Oct. 22, 1935. M. BURGER 2,018,396

AUTOMATIC CARTON SETTING-UP MACHINE I Original Filed June 20, 1931 16 Sheets-Sheet 10 Oct. 22, 1935. M BURGER 2,018,396

AUTOMATIC CARTON SETTING-UP MACHINE l Original Filed June 20, 1931 16 Sheets-Sheet 11 16 Sheets-Sheet l2 Oct. 22, 1935. M. BURGER AUTOMATC CARTON SETTING-UP MACHINE Original Filed June 20, 1951 JfC/TUZ Oct. 22, 1935. f M. BURGER 2,018,395

' AUTOMATIC CARTON SETTING-UP MACHINE Original Filed June 20, 1931 16 Sheets-Shet 13 Oct. y22, 1935. M BURGR 2,018,396

AUTOMATIC CARTON SETTING-UP MACHINE Original Filed June 20, 1951 16 Sheets-Sheet 14 Oct. 22, 1935. M. BURGER 2,018,396

y AUTOMATIC CARTON SETTING-UP MACHINE Original Filed June 20, 1931 16 ASheets-Sheec-15 Oct. 22,' 1935. M. BURGER AUTOMATIC CARTON SETTING-UP MACHINE original Filed June 2o,A 1951 1e sheeis-sheei 16 Z, Jenin/1 @fa/26T- Patented Oct. 22 i935 UNITED STATES AUTOMATIC CARTON SETTING-UP MACHINE Martin Burger, Morris, Ill., assignor to Belf- Locking Carton Company, Chicago, lll., a corporation oi' Illinois Application June 20, 1931, Serial No. 545,788

Renewed February 17, 1933 34 Claims.

' Cartons, particularly of the cellular type adapted to contain eggs, are. used in such large quantitles that they must be shipped in a collapsed form and be set 'up by the packer of eggs in order to place them in condition to receive their contents. Since a. great many millions of these cartons are used annularly, it is desirable to provide means for automatically setting them up, with no more manual labor than that required to pile the collapsed or flattened cartons in stacks. The object of the present invention is to produce a simple and novel machine that will automatically open out and set up collapsed cartons delivered to it in any convenient way.

About the simplest way f handling the cartons preparatory to setting them up is to pile v them in'stacks; and, viewed in one of its aspects, the present invention may be said to have for its object to produce a simple and novel machine for automatically removing folded or collapsed cartons, one at a time, from stack formation and setting them up ready for their final use.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following 'detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,

wherein: v

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a machine embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is an elevation of that end of the machine to which the attened cartons are delivered; Fig. 3 is acentral longitudinal section through the machine; Figs. 4 and 5 are sections taken on lines 4--4 and 5-5 cfFg. 3, respectively, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 6 is a section, on an enlarged scale, on line 6-5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the carton-feeding slide and its guides. the same lying directly below the part of the fi'ame of the machine shown in Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 3, on a larger scale. showing only a fragment of the machine with the carton-feeding slide in a. different position than in Fig. 3; Fig. 9 is a section taken approx,- imatcly on line 9-9 of Fig. 1, on the same scale as Fig. 8, and with the parts in the same positions as shown in Fig. B; Fig. 10 is a section on the same plane as Fig. 6, showing only a fragment ofthe stack support but including portions of the feed rolls and printing device for marking section on line I2-l2 of Fig. 6; Fig. 13 is a section on line 13--13 of Fig. 10; Figs. 14, 15, 16 and 1'? are sections on the same plane as Fig. 3, being on a larger scale, and each showing only that part of the machine comprising the settingup and ejecting mechanism, showing different d l positions in each of these four figures; Fig. 18 is a top plan view of the setting-up mechanism in the position shown in Fig. 16, the stationary frame of the machine being omitted and a lcarton I being shown in section in the setting-up mechal0 nism; Fig. v19 is a View similar to Fig. 18, a smaller fragment being shown, the parts being in different positions, and all of the body of thecarton, except the cross partitions, being omitted; Fig, 20 is a section on the same plane as Figs. 16 15 and 1'7, showing only a small fragment of what appears in these figures, and indicating a position of the parts which is intermediate between the positions of Figs. 16 and 17; Fig. 21 is a detail, showing the operating mechanism for the knock- 20 out arms; Fig. 22 is a vertical longitudinal section through the vsetting-up mechanism in a closed condition, together with one of the knock-out arms and an automaticstop of which the catch is shown in several positions in full anddotted 25 lines; Fig. 23 is a section on line 23-23 of Fig. 22; Fig. 24 is a section, on a larger scale, on line 24-24 of Fig. 23; and Fig. 25 is a side elevation of a fragment of the machine at one end of the automatic stop device. 3.0 In the drawings, there is illustrated a machine in which the invention is embodied in a form particularly adapted for setting up a well known form of one-piece, cellular egg carton, in which the bottom is an inverted V in cross section and 35 is provided with slots through which project hooks on transverse partitions hung from their upper ends on the front and rear walls of the carton; the cartons being delivered to the user in a attened condition whose thickness is no greater 40 at any point than the combined thickness of three layers of the cardboard or paper stock of which the cartons are made; and, for the sake of brevity, the present invention will be described in connection with this particular machine. 4 5 Referring to the drawings, i and 2 represent vertical side members, and 3 a base member of a. box-like frame open at the front and rear ends and at the top. Extending across the top of this frame at one end, which will hereinafter be re- 5i) ferred to as the rear end, is a horizontal table or platform 4 on which a stack of cartons A is adapted to be supported, and from which the folded or collapsed cartons are adapted to be fed forward, from the bottom of the stack, one at a time. The 55 stack of cartons is accurately positioned on the table by a'box-like structure 5A rising from the table and open at the top. In the arrangement shown, wide central panels, extending from the top to the bottom, are left open at the front and rear ends at one side of the box-like structure.

As best shown in Figs. 10 and 13, the interior of the carton-centering structure 5 is abruptly widened, transversely ofthe machine, just above the table, to enable the lowermost carton to be shifted laterally; this' abrupt widening forming, at one side at least, a pocket 6 into which the adjacent edge of a carton may enter through a lateral movement across the table. In Fig. 13, there are shown two collapsed cartons, of which the lowermost has been shifted laterally into the pocket, whereas the upper one has not yet been shifted. As will appear from Figs. 6 and 10, the forward edge of each collapsed carton has therein notches B. On the inner face of the forward wall of the box 5 is a projecting vertical rib 1 which enters corresponding notches B in the cartons as they are dropped down into the box. As best shown in Fig. 13, this rib 1 does not extend down to the table but terminates at a point spaced apart from the table a distance equal to or slightly greater than the thickness of one collapsed carton. Therefore, the lowermost carton is free from this rib or projection, whereas the overlying cartons that are in registration with the pocket 8 are restrained from moving laterally into the pocket by the rib or projection.

The feeding movement of the cartons is in the forward direction, the forward wall of the box B being 'cut away just above the table, as clearly shown in Figs. 8 and 9, to provide a slot 8 extendt ing across the width of the box and lust wide enough, in its vertical dimension, to permit a carton on the table to slide forward through the same. The front wall of the .box may hold back the second carton from the table. However, additional holding means have been provided to restrain all of the cartons except the lowermost one. As clearly shown in Fig. 6, the cover member of the carton projects rearwardly from the body portion, in the position which the' carton occupies in the stack, and the extreme rear edge of the cover has thereon a series of hooks C. Rising from the table, as shown in Fig. 6 and also in Fig. 12, is a pin 9 that engages one hook on each of several cartons at the bottom of the stack and thus prevents them from being pushed forward. However, the lateral movement which may be given the lowermost carton, as heretofore explained, will release from the pin that hook thereo n which was previously engaged with the latter, so that the lowermost carton is left quite free to be pushed out from under the stack. In Fig. 6, the carton is shown in full lines in locking relation to the pin 9 and in dotted lines in a laterally shifted positionfree from the pin.

The lateral shifting of the lowermost carton of the stack, and the forward feeding thereof, is

produced by a slide I0 underlying the table 4 as to be capable of oscillating about an axis extending lengthwise of the machine, is a carton shifter consisting of a finger I6 projecting up through the hole I4 and a depending stem I1 having thereon an anti-friction rollerl I8; the 5 finger extending upwardly from the pivotal axis and the stem extending downwardly from this axis. When the lowermost carton settles on the table, the finger I6 will lie just outwardly from the adjacent side edge of the lowermost layer of l0 the carton. Then, if the shifter be swung in the counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 11,

it will push the lowermost carton laterally and place it in a position to be fed forwardly by other means. The shifter may conveniently be actul5 ated by a suitablecam device on the slide I Il. In the arrangementshown, the slide has a long side slot I9 extending in the direction of the length of the machine, through which slot the bracket I5 and the shifting device extend; thus permitting 20 the slide to move back and forth. On the under side of the slide is fixed a plate 20, having therein a cam groove 22 within which lies the anti-friction roller I8 on the shifting device. This cam groove is so shaped that, when the slide is at the 25 rear end of its movement, the finger of the shifting device lies in the position shown in Fig. 11, namely, at the end of its working stroke. As the slide moves forward through somewhat less than half of its stroke, no change in position in the shifting device occurs.' As the slide continues to move forward, the shifting device is quickly swung in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 11, through its return stroke, and is, therefore, made ready to engage with the next carton that reaches the table. During the remainder of the forward stroke of the slide, no change in the shifting device takes place, nor does it during the first part oi' the return stroke. Only after almost half of the return stroke of the slide has been completed, w does the cam operate again to swing the shifting device through a working stroke. In other Words, themeans for shifting the lowermost carton laterally operates only after a carton has been pushed -forward by the slide, as will hereinafter be exu plained, and the slide is well on its return stroke; thereby insuring that there will be no eii'ort made to shift a carton laterally until the preceding carton has been completely removed.

The forward feed movement of the lowermost loA carton at the bottom of the stack is accomplished by a plurality of dogs 2l, each connected by a pivot 24 to the slide, between the ends of the dog and at the'forward edge of the slide, as best shown in Figs. 7 and 8. These dogsare shown as being It counterweighted, so that their forward ends or noses tend constantly to rise above the top of the slide, but will yield in the manner of a trailing pawl during the back stroke of the slide. Each folded or collapsed carton has therein, inwardly 60 from the forward edge, closed slots D extending lengthwise of the machine where the cartons are in stack formation. The table l has therein a series of longitudinal slots 25 corresponding in number and in position, transversely of the ma- 65 chine, to the dogs 2l, these slots extending from the front end of the table rearwardly to a point underneath the stack of cartons, as best shown in do not register with the slots 25 in the table, but,

when the lowermost carton is shifted laterally, as indicated in dotted lines inFig. 10, certain of the slots D in the carton are brought directly above the slots l2B in the table. 'Ihe parts are also so 75 proportioned that. whenever the slide is in its retracted position, the noses of the dogs 28 press up against the under side of the lowermost carton so that, as soon as the lowermost carton is shifted laterally, the noses of the dogs enter the corresponding slots D. Then, when the slide is moved forward, the dogs push the lowermost carton ahead, and from beneath the stack. On the return movement of the slide, the dogs simply trail idly in the manner of a trailing pawl.

In front of the table are two transverse shafts 26 and 21, one above the plane of the table and the other below this plane. On the shafts are cooperating feed rollers 28 and 29, respectively.

These feed rollers may be made comparatively short, so that an extension 30 at the front end of the table may project forward through the space betweenl cooperating'pairs of rollers 28 and 29. These rollers being suitably driven, it will beseen that, as a carton is pushed forward along the table, it will be gripped between the feed rollers and moved ahead still farther, or at least until l its trailing end leaves the rollers.

In packaging eggs, it is desirable that the date on which a box was filled be marked on the box or carton. I have therefore, provided means whereby a date or other infomation may be printed on each carton as it passes through the feed rollers. Cartons set up by machines of this kind are filled when and as delivered by the machine, so that the date of filling will be the same as the date of setting them up. This printing device,v as shown in Figs. 8-10, consists of a rotary head 32 having thereon a die 33. Above the rotary head, on the shaft 26, is a pressure roller 34. Each carton, as it passes between the printing head and the pressure roller, receives the impression of the die. In order to save wear, in case no carton is passing through the machine, means are provided for holding the pressure roller 34 clear of the printing head, except at times when a carton is present.

In the arrangement shown, there is a bracket 35 xed to the front side of the box 5. On this bracket is pivoted a horizontal bell crank lever 36, on one end of which is a device 31 adapted to shift the roller 34 lengthwise of the shaft. Hanging down from one side of the bracket is a forwardly curved arm 38 having at the top a pin 39 extending into a hole 40 in one arm of the bell crank lever. A spring 42, acting on the bell crank lever, tends constantly to hold it in a position wherein the pressure `roller 34 lies at one side of the printing head 32, as shown in Fig. 10. The spring, acting through the bell crank lever, swings the arm 38 so that its lower end projects down throughaV slot 43 in the table. When a carton comes along, the forward edge thereof engages with the arm 38, swinging the lower end of the arm forward and up, and thereby moving the pressure roller 34 into its working position against the resistance of the spring. Therefore, while the controlling arm rests on a carton which is passing between the feed rolls, the printing mechanism will be operative to mark the carton, but, at other times, will be idle and the die thus be saved from wear.

After leaving the feed rolls, the carton is engaged by a mechanism that opens it and sets it up. The operation, generally speaking, is partially to open up the carton, grip the transverse flaps or-partitions and swing them parallel with the longitudinal axis of the machine, and then push in the bottom to give it the V form and interlock it with the partitions.

Fig. 14 shows 'a carton just leaving the feed rolls.l It will be seen that the trailing end, which is the cover section, underlies a transverse frame 44 which, as will be seen from Fig. l, is sldably supported at its ends on stationary longitudinall guide rods 3| and 4I above the front portion of 5 the machine and at opposite sides thereof. The forward part of the collapsed carton, namely, the body portion thereof, rests on a shelf 45v which, at the time, lies at some distance infront of the frame 44.' The shelf 45 is supported from up- 1o rights 48 fixed to and projecting upwardly from points between the ends of a pair of long links, or connecting rods. 41 toward vopposite sides in the machine. The rear end of each connecting rod is pivoted to the lower end of an arm 48 l5 loosely hung at its upper end on the feed roll shaft 21. The forward end of each connecting` rodis pivotally connected to the lower end of an arm 49 fixed to a transverse rocker shaft 50 ying at some distance above the connecting 20 rods. As the rocker shaft oscillates, the shelf will be moved back and'forth, at the same time lowering and rising. Fixed to the middle of the rocker shaft is an arm 52 that extends upwardly and rearwardly, this arm having at its free end a 25 pair of suction cups 53,- 53.

As will hereinafter be explained, by the time the carton reaches the position shown in Fig. 14, the shelf willhave been moved forward and up and the suction cups will have been brought down into 30 contact with the top of the carton. Then, when the rock shaft turns in the counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 14, the body of the carton will be lifted by the suction cups and will be partially opened, as indicated in Fig. 15.

In the plane of the longitudinal axes of the guides I2 and I3 is a transverse blade member 54. As the carton is raised, the central fold in the bottom wall is brought against the rearwardly facing edge of this lblade member, the carton being guided into this position by rearwardly facing shoes 55, each having an arm 56 directed upwardly and rearwardly, and the second arm 51 directed downwardly and rearwardly; these arms meeting at a point in the plane of the blade member. 45 The shoes are fixed to and project forwardly from a slide 58 mounted on the guide rods 3| and 4|, in rear of the blade member. When the carton reaches the position shown in Fig. 14, the shoes are retracted, but, as the suction cups move up, 50 the shoes travel rearwardly.

The blade member and the shoes cooperate with means carried by the frame member 44 to complete the opening and setting up of the carton.

'Ihe frame 44 includes separated, parallel upper and lowerl bars, between which are fixed a series of parallel vertical elements lying in planes extending lengthwise ofthe machine and cooperating with a corresponding number of movable gripper elements to straighten out and hold the flaps that are to form the cross partitions of the carton. As best shown in Fig. 15, each of these stationary gripper elements consists of upper and` lower blades or plates 59 and 60, spaced apart 65 from each other and projecting forward beyond the frame 44. Between the bars of the frame 44 are a series of swinging gripper elements 62, each journalled at its rear end in the upper and lower bars of the frame beside one of the stationary grippers. On the upper trunnion or journal of each swinging gripper element, above the frame 44, is a pinion 63. A long rack bar 64, meshing with the pinions on all of the swinging grippers, is mounted Aon. top of the fr'ame for lengthwise 75 movements transversely of the machine. In the arrangement shown,r as best seen in Fig. 18, the rack bar is held to the frame by guide straps 65 and 66 secured over the rack bar at opposite ends of the frame.

It will be seen that, by reciprocating the rack bar, the vswinging grippers may be moved from the open positions shown in Fig. 18 to the closed positions of Fig. 19. l

When the carton reaches the position shown in Fig. 15, theA grippers are open, as in Fig. 18. The frame 44 then moves forward to the position indicated in Fig. 16, causing the carton to become more fully opened. During this movement of the frame and its grippers, the partially severed flaps E, that are in the V-shaped part of the carton facing the grippers in Fig. 15, engage the open swinging gripper wings or elements 62 and are turned partly into the interior of the carton, 'as indicated in Fig. 18. Further forward movement of the gripper structure to the position indicated in Fig. 17 then causes the grippers to close on the flaps E and set them parallel to the longitudinal axis of the machine, as shown in Fig. 19.

The means for operating the rack bar to cloSe. the gripperswill now be described. Onthe frame of the machine beside the guidejrod I3, and opposite one end of the rack bar 64, is a cam plate 61 having therein a cam groove 68 extending lengthwise of the machine. On the rack bar is a cam roll 69 riding inthe cam groove. As the gripper structure moves forward between the positions indicated in Figs. 16 and 17, respectively, the cam shifts the rack bar ,and closes the grippers on the flaps or cross partitions of the carton. 'Ihe cam plate may be hinged to the machine frame at one end, as indicated at 10, and be yieldingly held in its working position by a spring 12 at the other end. 'This arrangement enables the cam plate to yield after the rack bar has completed its working stroke and avoid objectionable stresses in the mechanism without requiring extreme accuracy in construction. It will be seen that the cam groove has a straight portion 13 along which the cam roll may travel while the gripper mechanism is travelling through the last half of the movement from the position indicated in Fig. 16 to that of Fig. 17.

When the grippers are closed on the flaps or cross partitions, the forward edges of the latter are brought into the same vertical longitudinal planes as the corresponding slots D in the bottom wall of the carton, as best shown in Fig. 20, which illustrates a position intermediate between those of Fig. 16 and Fig. 17. The shoes or pressure feet are retracted as the gripper mechanism moves ahead, so that only the blade element 54 is in contact with the bottom wall of the carton. Since this blade member is stationary, the continued forward movement of the gripper mechanism and the carton, from a position illustrated in Fig. 20 to that illustrated in Fig. 17, causes the bottom of the carton to be pressed in along its longitudinal center, and the hook elements on the flaps or cross partitions of the carton to pass through the slots D; the setting up of the carton being now complete.

It will be seen that the shelf or rest 45 lies slightly above the trailing end of the cover section F of the carton in Fig. 17. Therefore, when the gripper mechanism, with the carton held therein, moves backward, the cover of the carton will pass under the shelf and strike against a depending flange 14 on the latter. When the cover of the carton strikes this shelf, the rearward travel of the carton is stopped and, therefore, the continued rearward movement of the gripper mechanism in which, in the meantime, the grippers have been opened, causes the gripper mechanism to strip or free itself from the carton which then 5 falls down upon a suitable bed 15, best shown in Fig. 16. As appears in Figs. 4 and 16, there is a yoke 16 depending from the gripper frame 44, thel cross piece of the yoke lying underneath the bed 15. On this cross piece are ngers 11 ex- 10` tending up through slots in the bed and adapted, whenever the gripper mechanism moves forward,

to engage with a carton that has dropped downv on the bed and move it forward to be discharged at the front end of the machine. 15

The mechanisms heretofore described may be operated in any suitable way and the suction of the lifting cups may also be controlled in any usual or suitable manner.

In the arrangement shown, the machine is driven from a motor 18 placed inside of the main frame toward the frontand near the base. At about the middle of the machine, between the side frame members I and 2, isa transverse main shaft 19 having thereon a loose pul1ey-80 driven I6 from the motor by a belt 82. This pulley may be clutched to the shaft by suitable means controlled by a clutch controller 83 operated by a suitable hand lever 84 at one side of the machine. The shaft 19 has thereon a pinion 85 l0 meshing with a large gear wheel 86 to which is fixed a pinion 81. 'I'he pinion 81 meshes with a large gear wheel 88 on a transverse shaft 89. The gear wheel 88 meshes with a gear wheel 90 placed rearwardly therefrom.

As best sho-wn in Fig. 3, there is a connecting rod 92 pivoted at one end to the gear wheel 90, while its other end is pivoted to the free end of an arm 93 fixed to and depending from a transverse rocker shaft 94 below the stack-supporting o table 4 and slide |0. The rocker shaft 94 has a lsecond arm 95 extending upwardly therefrom and connected by a link 96 to an ear or ears 91 on the under side of the slide I0. Therefore, whenever the motor is running and the clutch is in, 5 the feed slide for the collapsed cartons will move back and forth, feeding cartons one at a time from a stack on the table.

As best shown in Fig. 15, the gear wheel may also serve to drive the carton feed rolls; the shafts 26 and 21 having thereon gear wheels 98 and 99 which mesh with each other and one of which meshes with the gear wheel 90.

On the shaft 89 are two similar cams |00, |00, one at each side of the machine, for the purpose 55 of reciprocating the ripper frame. As best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, there are two long connecting rods |02, |02, one at each end of the frame 44, the upper end of each rod being connected to the said frame and the lower end 6@ being journa-lled on a transverse shaft |03 placed forwardly of and below the shaft 89. Of course, the connecting rods may be fixed to the shaft |03 and the shaft be permitted to turn. On each of these connecting rods is a cam roll |04 55 extending into a continuous cam groove |05 in the corresponding cam member. Therefore, as the shaft 89 revolves, the gripper mechanism will move back and forth.

The gear wheel 88 meshes with an idler gear 70 wheel |06 which in turn meshes With a gear Wheel |01 on a transverse shaft |08 near the front end of the machine. On the shaft |00 are two cam members |09 eachA having a cam groove |10. Forwardly of and below the shaft |08 is a shaft 75 

